buy a .22 AR, later switch to 223/5.56?

I'm new to the AR world, I would like to know if I can purchase a AR chambered in .22 and later switch it out to fire 223/5.56 rounds? Forgive my stupidity if this is a dumb question, I'm a beginner...

I'm new to the AR world, I would like to know if I can purchase a AR chambered in .22 and later switch it out to fire 223/5.56 rounds? Forgive my stupidity if this is a dumb question, I'm a beginner...

Yes its possible you can either buy a ar with a dedicated .22 upper which is a barrel and bolt ment to for the size of a 22 shell. You can also get a real 223/ 556 ar and buy a.. I think.. 200$ bolt that will shoot a 22 shell out of you 223/556 barrel. Just buying the bolt might give u some accuracy issues but I've heard good and bad about the bolt.
Your cheapest way is just buy the bolt but if u want accuracy get the whole 22 upper.

You can't make the dedicated .22LR ARs into a 5.56 version but you can buy a standard 5.56 AR and buy a .22LR upper. Or get a conversion unit to put into the 5.56 chamber.

In the long run though I think a great solution is to buy two ARs, one in 5.56 and the other a dedicated .22LR like the S&W or Colt. I have the Colt and love it. You can find sales on either one around $400, just saw the Colt for $409 last week.

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The biggest issue with assembling an AR isn't so much getting the parts together right - it's getting the right parts together.
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US Army 1966-69, VFW Life Member, Retired Geek

You can take a dedicated .22 and convert it to shoot 5.56/.223. My CMMG dedicated upper would require a barrel and BCG swap. It would also require the ejection port door and deflector to be changed.

I would purchase a 5.56 rifle and a CMMG dedicated .22 upper. The CMMG .22 is designed to run on a standard lower receiver. You could also purchase a 5.56 lower and the CMMG upper then purchase the 5.56 upper later when you're ready.

If you just shoot .22lr out of a 5.56/.223 chamber, the bullets are 4 thousands smaller than the barrel. Thus, your bullet will be bumping around as it is fired, over time hurting your barrel.

IMHO, one should buy/build a lower that would be appropriate for a full-on 5.56x45mm AR-15 upper, then purchase a dedicated .22lr upper. Later, when you save the money or whatever, go ahead and buy yourself a dedicated 5.56 upper.